Ch. 3 Minerals Study Guide
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Get signed for BONUS POINTS: _____________________
1. Describe minerals. (Hint: Are rocks minerals? Are minerals rocks?)
2. What are the important factors in the formation of minerals?
3. On Mohs' hardness scale, what minerals are harder than quartz?
4. A mineral's streak is more reliable than a mineral’s ____________ when identifying a mineral.
5. Halite is a(n) ____________________ of sodium and chlorine.
6. The two most common elements in the Earth's crust are __________________________
7. _________________________ minerals make up less than ten percent of the Earth's crust.
8. When quartz breaks it forms a curved pattern called __________________________.
9. __________________ minerals are the most common silicate mineral group in the Earth's crust.
10. ________________ minerals contain the elements silicon and oxygen along with aluminum, potassium,
sodium, and calcium.
11. NaCl is the chemical formula for which of the following minerals?
12. List the types of surface mines.
13. Gold, silver, and copper are all examples of __________________________.
14. Nonsilicate minerals do not contain combinations of ______________ and ______________.
15. What terms can be used to describe the nonmetallic luster of a mineral?
16. Minerals that contain combinations of carbon and oxygen in their chemical structure are called
_______________.
17. _______________________ are compounds that form when an element, such as aluminum or iron,
combines chemically with oxygen.
18. ________________________ are compounds that form when atoms of the elements fluorine (F),
chlorine (Cl), iodine (I), or bromine (Br) combine with sodium (Na), potassium (K), or calcium (Ca).
19. List the types of deep (subsurface) mines.
20. If the atoms of a substance are arranged in a specific, repetitive pattern, the substance is
_______________.
21. Some minerals have special properties that help us to identify them. What are some of these special
properties? (List 4)